The Jacksonville Jaguars had been rumored to be interested in Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas once free agency rolled around. Now that free agency is here, it's all but confirmed that Thomas will be heading to Florida for the 2015 season.
"Tight end Julius Thomas, though, is working out contract details with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to an NFL source," Mike Klis of the Denver Post wrote.
"The deal is not done, although it may simply be waiting on the market to officially open at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Thomas was expected to get a five-year contract worth close to $9 million per year."
This pairing makes sense for several reasons. One, the Jaguars believe in second-year quarterback Blake Bortles. The team has surrounded him with an intriguing group of young wide receivers and adding an elite red zone threat such as Thomas could help Bortles breakout in 2015. The TE has caught 12 touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, after all.
Second, the Jags have almost $70 million in salary cap space this offseason. In fact, the team will have to spend money to reach the minimum salary floor mandated by the NFL.
The only downside of this move is Thomas' fantasy football value, according to ESPN NFL Insider Matt Williamson.
"I think he's a very good athlete, but not an elite athlete," Williamson wrote. "I don't know that he has a Jimmy Graham-type of ceiling. You do look at what happened to the Broncos' offense after he got hurt last season. It was much worse. They went to the run. A lot of people said that was because of Peyton Manning, but another big reason was this guy was out. They lost that red zone production. But if he goes to, say, Jacksonville and is the top receiver on that team, I could see him really taken away by defenses. There is some 'buyer beware' there, to me, in terms of a guy where his stats are great but then, depending on his next home, could fall off in a big way."
Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com echoed Williamson's sentiments when he noted that Thomas ranked far below the elite tight ends in percentage of team targets and receiving yards.
Will Thomas disappear without Manning at the helm or will he help Bortles break through to the next level of his development? The 2015 season can't come soon enough.
